Here is what you need to know on this Friday, August 29, one day before the Redskins cut their roster to 53.

Nickel coverage

The offseason is finally over. The Redskins are going to cut their roster to 53 by 4 p.m. tomorrow, establish their practice squad Sunday, and get to work on Monday. Jay Gruden was hired as the team’s head coach on January 9; here is what we’ve learned about him and the team since then.

They are going to run the ball—Although Gruden may be somewhat reluctant to do it, the Redskins are going to run the ball a lot. “The strength of our football team would be, I would say, our running game,” he said earlier this week. With Robert Griffin III struggling to adjust to being a pocket passer and examining the entire field, that is the wise course of action.

Special teams will be better—Rob Jackson might be a better linebacker than Gabe Miller and Everette Brown but he was released this week anyway. Why? “It’s not just how well you play that position, it’s what you do that can help the team in other spots, special teams for instance,” said Gruden. Remember that when you hear about any cuts tomorrow that don’t make sense on the face of them. The answer will lie special teams. Ben Kotwica will have heavy input into the determination of the last half dozen or so roster spots.

Jim Haslett really is in charge of the defense—A more aggressive defense doesn’t necessarily mean a better defense. But after getting retained as defensive coordinator Haslett will at least get a chance to do things the same way. It seems that Gruden is keeping a proper balance between being aware and meddling.

Alfred Morris is ready for the season—This is a good thing for the Redskins due to the top item in this list. He’s been running with confidence ever since his first carry of OTAs. It continued through training camp and the preseason games.

DeSean Jackson is fast—He didn’t always turn it on 100 percent during the offseason but when he did it was eye catching. It looks like Griffin is still adjusting to having a guy with his speed as a target; they have been very much hit or miss when the media has been able to observe them work. But if/when they ever start to hit consistently it will be something to see.

If you have any questions about what’s going on at Redskins Park, hit me up in the comments. I’ll answer all questions as soon as I can get to them. And I’m always on Twitter @Rich_TandlerCSN.

Quite a few players certainly enhanced their chances for sure…..think seastruck..thompson join morris..helu with redd on practice squad as cover for thompson…..cant c any other changes on offense side…………

Neild inj sorts out who makes d-line…..miller could force himself onto roster at lb……cant c much diff to corners and safeties. ……forbath as kicker (koffs are touch short but hes proved he can make clutch kicks the last two yrs)…punter?

Quite few things to b positive bout but could all change when the real stuff startsnxt suSunday